1970s American films have generally always looked ugly to me, but Friedkin, amping up the grain and blurring the colors came up with a visual look just as gritty as the hardcore grunginess of his lead character. (theendofcinema.net)
Being poor isn't supposed to look nice, or fun, and the easiest way to convey that is with a drab grunginess. (seattlescreenscene.com)
Its overall grunginess, as well as the other aforementioned issues, stop it from achieving its potential, but what can I say? (thejimquisition.com)